Dreams are the touchstones of our character.

There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.

Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.

In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

My dad was like a stage mother he always pushed me to do what I wanted.

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

I never dreamed of being a pop star when I was a child.

When everything works best, it’s not because you chose writing but because writing chose you. It’s when you’re mad with it, it’s when it’s stuffed in your ears, your nostrils, under your fingernails. It’s when there’s no hope but that.

In difficult times, we’re not supposed to quit believing; we’re not supposed to quit growing.

I don’t really know that much about love, it turns out.

The child who desires education will be bettered by it; the child who dislikes it disgraced.

I felt unhappy and trapped. If I left baseball, where could I go, what could I do to earn enough money to help my mother and to marry Rachel? The solution to my problem was only days away in the hands of a tough, shrewd, courageous man called Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man.

It’s the philosophies of being an athlete that carry me today.

As scientists, we step on the shoulders of science, building on the work that has come before us – aiming to inspire a new generation of young scientists to continue once we are gone.

While we may lose heart, we never have to lose hope.

Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.

It was a personal decision for me to stand and say that cricket is all I have in life, there’s nothing I need to do other than cricket. If I want to achieve whatever I thought as a kid, I need to work hard and not let it go to waste.

My kind of composing is more like the work of a gardener. The gardener takes his seeds and scatters them, knowing what he is planting but not quite what will grow where and when – and he won’t necessarily be able to reproduce it again afterwards either.

The measure of a man is what he does with power.

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.

That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.

The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality or whatever you like to call it, can never be answered by books, by priests, philosopher’s or saviours. Nobody and nothing can answer the question but you yourself, and that is why you must know yourself – Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire.

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.

Today we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation’s promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.

If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.

You know, T can stand for anything. T stand for working hard. T stand for loving thy neighbor. T stand for feeding the hungry. T stand for just working, working, working, being happy on the set, you know, lifting everybody’s spirits. T stands for just a nice guy.

You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life.

Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you’ve got to let it grow.

Being a hero is about the shortest-lived profession on earth.

In my career as a director, there’s always been some point where you get halfway through it, or three-quarters, and you go: ‚What is this thing all about, and why am I telling the story? Does anybody really care about seeing this?‘ At that time you have to say: ‚OK, forget that and just go ahead.‘

What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.

You don’t have to be a renowned artist like Q-Tip to try your hand at poetry. You don’t need any special equipment – that’s the beauty of it.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

You fail only if you stop writing.

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

My dad used to have an expression – ‚It is the lucky person who gets up in the morning, puts both feet on the floor, knows what they are about to do, and thinks it still matters.‘

If something’s important enough, you should try. Even if – the probable outcome is failure.

I’ve never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves – it’s just a question of finding the subject.

Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.

Never complain and never explain.

You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.

Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to take it where you find it.

In acting, you have to pull from real-life situations, from people, to help develop a character.

One element of Madonna’s career that really takes center stage is how many times she’s reinvented herself. It’s easier to stay in one look, one comfort zone, one musical style. It’s inspiring to see someone whose only predictable quality is being unpredictable.

It is a fact often observed, that men have written good verses under the inspiration of passion, who cannot write well under other circumstances.

Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.

If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.

In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.

If a small-town boy like me who bagged groceries was able to make his dreams come true, you can too.

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

I think that at the start of a game, you’re always playing to win, and then maybe if you’re ahead late in the game, you start playing not to lose. The true competitors, though, are the ones who always play to win.

What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

I try to use my experience and the fact that I grew up in the ghetto – I tell people you don’t have to rob or steal to get out of the ghetto.

Sometimes people make it seem like you have to have certain prerequisites or a crazy life story in order to be successful in this world. But the truth is you really don’t.

I had so many people try to talk me out of starting a rocket company, it was crazy.